What Age Do Women Start Menopause?
Most women start menopause when they reach the age of 50. However, you should know that every woman is different. Some don’t reach it until they are in their 60s; others start very early, sometimes in their late 30s or early 40s and that’s usually the time to begin with the menopause treatment. Most women start it around the same age as their mothers and grandmothers did, this can give you a clue about your chances.
Estrogen is a hormone that is used by various parts of your body. Therefore, you will experience various symptoms once levels get low. Some of the most common include mood changes, vaginal changes, hot flashes and night sweats. Around the time you start menopause, you’ll start having hot flashes most likely. You’ll have an intense feeling of heat along the upper part of your body. This can last anywhere from one to ten minutes. It can even be bad enough to wake you up from your sleep. If you experience these hot flashes, you should seek out a cooler location once they start. You should also make sure the room that you sleep in has a fan or some other cooling method to help relieve night sweats.
As you get older, the walls of your vagina will naturally become thinner. They will also lose their elasticity and become drier. Once estrogen levels drop during menopause, this problem is increased even more. This will dramatically increase your chances of vaginal and urinary infections.
There are a few things you can do to prevent this from happening:
- Make sure that you use the bathroom frequently, so your bladder isn’t full for long periods of time.
- You also need to keep your genital area clean, especially after sex.
- Drink plenty of fluids, that’s always a good idea.
Many women also have problems with urinary incontinence as they age. This will make it difficult for you to hold your urine in especially when running, sneezing, or exercising. To help prevent this, you should set a schedule to use the bathroom and stick to it throughout the day. There are also Kegel exercises designed to help you strengthen the muscles that keep urine in.
As mentioned earlier, women who reach the age of menopause often experience mood changes. They can go from being sad to happy or irritable at a moment’s notice and for no particular reason. The best way to deal with these mood changes is to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Natural Hormone replacement also helps to deal with this problem.
Osteoporosis can really become a problem as you age. Since you won’t produce as much estrogen, you will start losing more bone that your body replaces naturally. Around this age, you will need to ensure that you eat plenty of foods rich in calcium. You may also need supplements prescribed by your doctor, and, as mentioned before, hormone replacement therapy can also help.
There is no way to tell when you will start menopause. A good measure is roughly around the same age as your mother did. Once you do start experiencing symptoms though, you will need to make changes in your lifestyle so that you can adjust comfortably.